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Thank you for your interest in our important work in Idaho.
Boise, ID 83720-0081
U.S.A
(208) 332-1353
Boise Idaho Senator Michelle Stennett, Idaho State Senate Minority Leader
This session, we’ve had a record low number of bills originate in the Senate, and record high number from the House. Once a bill passes through its chamber of origin, it must be considered in the other chamber. So, when the House has a high number of bills, our workload in the Senate tends to be much heavier in the latter part of the legislative session. Here’s an update on some legislation we’ve seen this past week:
Read MoreTown Hall Recap – Education, Jobs, and Quality of Life
Education
Last weekend Rep. Sally Toone, Rep. Steve Miller, and I traveled the district and hosted 6 legislative town halls! We had great attendance and engaging questions from our community members in Ketchum, Bellevue, Fairfield, Gooding, Hagerman, and Shoshone. Our district was concerned with public education, particularly as it pertains to funding the career ladder and retaining qualified teachers for our students.
Read MoreLast night we held our first town hall in a series of 6, and turnout was fantastic with some great questions! I hope you’ll join us at your local town hall today:
Today February 10:
Bellevue - Oak Street Deli - 8am
Fairfield - Senior Center - 10am
Gooding - Landr Inn - Noon
Hagerman - City Hall - 2pm
Shoshone - Community Center - 4pm
Read MoreFighting for Families
We’re about to dive into the Fighting for Families Week of Action! We invite you to join in a conversation with members of the Idaho State Legislature, during the Fighting for Families Week of Action. With your support we can more effectively advocate for policies that work for all Idaho families. Each day of Week of Action will feature an important family policy discussion, led by a member of your Idaho State Legislature. Following and joining these conversations is easy. Just click on this link to be routed to the host page. Here’s a schedule of events for the week:
Read MoreHonoring Women
August 18, 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, granting women the right to vote. I have the pleasure of cosponsoring a resolution to educate Idahoans and others through the country about their heritage and commemorate the centennial of the passage of this important milestone. This resolution seeks to support and encourage Idahoans to explore and appreciate the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
Read MoreWe just finished the second week of the legislative session, and for the most part, so far so good! These first few weeks are filled with agency rules review and confirming the Governor’s appointments to public organizations. The task of reviewing and confirming gubernatorial appointments is reserved exclusively for the Senate. We take this role seriously, as these appointees are the individuals who will help implement the laws we pass in the legislature. It is important that they meet statutorial requirements and are well-qualified for their appointed positions.
Read MoreGreetings from the first week of the 2018 legislative session! We kicked the week off with Governor Otter’s final State of the State address where he outlined plans for workforce development, healthcare, tax cuts, and education. The Minority Caucus responded with our own legislative agenda, and plans to make tangible positive change for Idahoans.
Read MoreHard working Idahoans tell us their top issues are education and the economy, healthcare, and transportation infrastructure. Through that lens, we made great stride with public education, skilled workforce development which equates to well-paid careers, state-wide transportation infrastructure needs, and policies that support our quality of life. With deep disappointment, healthcare, particularly the 78,000 uninsured gap population, remains unresolved with a few exceptions. Let's see how the 2017 legislative session shook out.
Read MoreExpanding Medicaid
This Thursday, the Senate considered expanding Medicaid and accepting federal matching dollars to bridge the healthcare coverage gap. Approximately 78,000 Idahoans currently fall into this coverage gap, roughly 10,000 of which are our military veterans. Speaker Paul Ryan's AHCA still allows for states to expand Medicaid until 2020. Unfortunately, for the fourth year in a row, the legislature has refused to take action. The measure failed to pass, leaving thousands of Idahoans without healthcare coverage.
Read MoreMadam President
This Tuesday I had the honor to serve as the President of the Senate for the first time. This is a position normally reserved for the Lt Governor, but work required his presence elsewhere. It was great to be on the other side of the gavel for a day routing bills through the legislative process!
Read MoreArticle V Constitutional Convention Resolution Fails
This Wednesday, after 2 hours of debate, we voted 11-24 against the resolution calling for an Article V Constitutional Convention. SCR 108 called for Idaho to join the convention solely for the purpose of passing a balanced budget amendment. While I do think this merits consideration, nine other states who were calling for the balanced budget were also calling for other amendments. There's simply no way to guarantee a single issue convention.
Read More"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth." - President Abraham Lincoln
Constitutional Convention
Friday morning in the Senate State Affairs Committee we passed the resolution calling for a constitutional convention to create a balanced budget amendment by a 5-4 vote. I voted no. We had a large turnout and had overwhelming opposition by those who testified.
Read MoreGreat Turnout at Town Halls!
We had our annual legislative district tour last weekend and we had record turnouts! I love seeing our community engage on issues that matter most and we had so many excellent conversations. Several of you asked how you can keep track of bills as they work through the legislative process. You can click here to visit the legislative bill center, which will tell you exactly what a bill says, who the sponsors are, where a bill sits at any given time, and our voting records.
Read More"For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself." - Galatians 5:14
District Tour
We kicked off our legislative district tour last night in Ketchum and had a great turnout. I am always so pleased to see our community members engage on issues that matter most. We'll continue the tour through the rest of our district today (February 11). Please join us:
Read More"Our workforce and our entire economy are strongest when we embrace diversity to its fullest, and that means opening doors of opportunity to everyone and recognizing that the American Dream excludes no one." - Thomas Perez
Workforce Development
I am honored to be one of the two legislators appointed to Governor Otter's Workforce Development Task Force. The task force is charged with studying ways to improve Idaho's funding and delivery of training programs to meet growing employer demand for skilled workers. Our recommendations are due by July 1st so our work is cut out for us. I'm pleased to be part of an effort that grows opportunities for Idahoans and helps them be competitive in a complex economy.
Read More"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi
I had the honor of sponsoring Ketchum's own former Rep. Wendy Jaquet on the Senate floor to confirm her reappointment to the State Board of Health and Welfare. Wendy is a dear friend and I know she will continue to serve us well on the board.
Read More"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." -Henry Ford
Yesterday we inaugurated a new President of the United States. I know some have felt divided, some have felt more united than ever, but my job in our state's capitol is to be a voice of reason when I represent the values of all my constituents. And so my work continues, and my responsibility to Idahoans and The Constitution serve as my sense of purpose.
Read MoreEducation and the Economy
In Governor Otter’s State of the State address, education continues to be the top priority. His education budget includes $104,200,000 in funding for recommendations from the Governor’s Task Force for improving education. This funding is the third year of the 5-year funding K-12 plan which includes $58,000,000 for the career ladder for certified instructional employees and pupil service staff. Unfortunately, pre-K or early learning was not mentioned.
Read MoreAs we approach the anticipated conclusion of our legislative session next week, the introduction and consideration of bills has reached a rapid-fire pace that is challenging and rigorous. We have passed 205 pieces of legislation in both chambers to date versus 98 passed by this time last year.
Read MoreThe "public nuisance" bill passed the Senate handily (28-6) as predicted in last week's newsletter and awaits House approval. Without irony, the Senate also passed H463 (27-8) preempting local control over the passage of minimum wage ordinances and we anticipate the same next week for the House-passed bill that denies local control over plastic bag prohibitions.
Read More